Rescue Team Adventures: Chasing the Sky
by DemonicK
Summary: What is Tal supposed to do, when she wakes up one morning to find that she's turned into an Eevee? Is there a place for her in this world without humans? And is there a dark secret in her past... one that may destroy the world?
1. Kaji and Tal

**Rescue Team Adventures: Chasing the Sky  
Chapter I: Kaji and Tal**

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A/N: I recently got Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. And I love it so very much. :) 

Though, I will admit, I have succumbed to the fashion and decided to write (much) shorter chapters for this story than I would normally. However, this is a good thing, because it means I can turn out chapters that much faster. Also, I've noticed that long chapters tend to discourage new readers, which is something that seems to continually vex me. So, my apologies to those who _enjoy_ longer chapters. Hopefully, you'll be getting the same amount of content in the same amount of time. And, don't worry, I'm determined to write at the same level that I usually do— just because the chapters are short doesn't mean the story will be shoddy. ;)

Read on, and reviews are welcome.

* * *

_Where…_

_Where am I? Is this a dream?_

_Ugh… My head really hurts… I feel like I just got the living daylights kicked out of me. What happened? I… I can't remember anything. Everything's so…_

…_So…_

"Hey! Are you okay?"

* * *

Somewhere out in a forest, a small yellow creature known as a Pikachu was walking. Going to visit friends, as it were. He didn't travel too much, but even he knew he had picked a good day to go out. The sky was the most pure blue, without a cloud in sight. Despite the bright sun, a cool breeze blew, and the air smelled fresh. It was a pleasant day, no doubt about that. 

In fact, very pleasant, especially in contrast to all those natural disasters that had been happening lately.

However, Pikachu's mind wasn't focused on things like earthquakes or floods. Rather, he was too busy enjoying his trip. So busy, in fact, that he almost missed the pained sounds coming from off the side of the path.

"Huh?" He stopped in the middle of the dirt road, turning to face the trees. His ears twitched back and forth for a moment, trying to catch the sound again— he wasn't sure that he hadn't just imagined it. But then it came again.

For a long few seconds, he hung back, unsure of what he should do… or really, what he _could_ do… He was small, and without any items or abilities that would really make him capable of helping someone in need. And of course, what with all the unnatural happenings lately… Pokemon were becoming vicious. Wandering off of the road was a sure bet for trouble, _especially_ for a little guy like him.

_Maybe that's what happened,_ he thought, growing worried. He didn't hesitate any longer, darting through the trees towards the source of the noise. It didn't take long, before he came to a clearing, occupied by none other than the source of the cries.

In the middle, lying apparently unconscious, was a young Eevee. The only noise he made now was a low whimper. Pikachu crept up to him. He didn't know why… he had just always been taught to be cautious around strange Pokemon. However, as he drew near to the other creature, he found himself relaxing a bit. This little guy really did seem genuinely hurt, and finally the small electric-type Pokemon walked right up to him to get a better look.

And… now that he _was_ up close, Pikachu suddenly realized that 'he' was actually a 'she'. He blushed, wondering why that was the first thing he noticed. What was _really_ weird though, was that she didn't appear to have _any_ injuries. Tentatively, Pikachu reached out one paw and placed it on her shoulder. No reaction. He shook her gently. "Hey! Are you okay?"

"Nngh… Wha?" Slowly, the Eevee opened her eyes, and looked groggily up at Pikachu. She then flinched, bringing one paw up to her forehead. "Agh, my head… feels like I got hit with a sack of rocks or something," she muttered.

Pikachu found himself grinning. "Good. You're alright."

Eevee started to rise. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I think so…" She then paused, turning to face Pikachu. Pikachu started a bit, seeing the alarmed look on her face. "Wait… did you just… you… _you can talk?_" she finally managed to stutter out.

"Nope," Pikachu said happily, teasing her. "…Wait, maybe…. Hm. _Yes._" He began chuckling.

Eevee, on the other hand, let out a cry of surprise, and jumped about a foot backwards. "You _did_ just talk!" This, apparently, was the most frightening thing she had ever seen, as she started panicking and tripping over herself in her efforts to back away as quickly as possible.

Pikachu just stared blankly. "I didn't think you were _serious_," he remarked, dumbfounded.

"B-but… you're a _Pokemon!_"

Pikachu reached up and scratched his head, now thoroughly confused. "Well… yeah. So are you," he pointed out. "Wow… you really must have hit your head _hard_."

Eevee had immediately looked down at herself upon hearing Pikachu's words, and tried to stifle a yelp. Paws. She had _paws!_ And thick brown fur. She tried to look over her back, and found herself turning in a circle. All she managed to get a glimpse of was a bushy brown tail.

"Uh… Eevee?" The name brought her out of her stunned reverie, and she turned to face Pikachu. He seemed rather concerned. "Are… are you hurt, or something?"

For a moment, she said nothing, unsure of what to do. _This is all just a dream. A really, really bad dream_, she told herself. However, she also found herself asking,_ then why does everything feel so real?_ "Um…no," she said finally. "No, I… I don't think so. Just a little weak." _And a little Pokemon…ish._

Pikachu sensed that something was still wrong. "Are you sure? 'Cause, I could take you to the town, or something… If you need any help, you can definitely find it there."

The mention of a town made Eevee perk up, and to her dismay, both of her ears went up at Pikachu's suggestion. She immediately flattened them back down, but found it uncomfortable. Giving up, she let her ears rise up again, having something more important to focus on. _A town! Apparently I can talk, even though I'm a Pokemon… I should be able to find some people there, and they can find help!_ Eevee couldn't help but smile, and she nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great!"

"Alright then," Pikachu said, gesturing over his shoulder. "The road's this way." He started heading for the path, and the other Pokemon followed. As they broke through the bushes and onto the packed dirt of the main road, he smiled. "You're lucky, Eevee, we're only a short ways away." He glanced back at her.

Eevee had stopped. She was giving him another strange look. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

Pikachu found himself confused, yet again. "Calling you what?"

"Eevee," she said, with a snort, and started walking again. Pikachu rushed to catch up the few steps to walk beside her. "That may be what I am," _…for now…_ "But that's not my name."

Pikachu tried not to look too embarrassed. "Uh, sorry, that's just pretty common, at least around here."

"What is?"

It was Pikachu's turn to give her a strange look. "Calling other Pokemon by their species name… I mean, as far as I know, most Pokemon don't like being called by their chosen names, unless they're really close friends, or family…"

Eevee seemed to withdraw for a moment. "Oh…" She glanced away, seemingly uncomfortable with this new piece of information. "It's… different, where I'm from." To her surprise, the other Pokemon began laughing, good-naturedly.

"It's okay. I can call you by your name if you want. What is it?"

"Talla."

"That's a pretty name," Pikachu said, almost automatically. A second later, however, he realized what he had just said, and began to blush. "Ah, I mean—"

She hadn't seemed to notice. Instead, she was chuckling. "I don't really like it. I go by Tal for short."

Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief. "Tal huh? Alright then," he said, with a nod. "Tal it is. By the way, my name is Kaji."

Tal looked up in surprise. "You don't mind…"

"Nah," he said, with a shake of his head. "So… things are different where you're from?"

The Eevee rolled her eyes, with a half-smile on her face. "_Way_ different."

"Huh." Kaji's eyes sparkled with mirth. "Then you don't get out much, do you?" he teased.

"_What?_" Tal demanded, the scruff of fur down her back rising up. However, she realized that he was just being light-hearted, and bit back the sharp reply she had been about to give. "Hmph."

Deciding to back off a bit, Kaji dropped it, trying to turn the conversation. "Speaking of… where are you from?"

Tal almost stopped dead in her tracks. Somehow, though, she managed to keep going, without looking completely panicky. "Uh… Well… I don't know what other Pokemon call it," she said, trying to make something up; "I just call it 'home'." She looked around, trying to think back to her own home… truthfully, it was more of a blur in the back of her mind than anything else. One thing she knew, though. "This sure isn't it," she added, quiet.

Kaji almost sighed out loud. _Great. _"So you're lost as well?" The Pikachu glanced over at his companion Pokemon, who looked away, as if a bit ashamed. "Well," he said, brightening up considerably, "someone in town should be able to help you find your way home."

The Eevee smiled, a bit sheepishly, but looked away again. Their conversation seemed to have ended, and for the next few minutes, they walked on in silence.

_I feel so weak, _Tal thought to herself. _ I wish I could remember what happened!_ A frown began to form on her face. All she really knew was that she was human— and _that_ she knew for sure— but beyond that…

All of a sudden, she stumbled, tripping over her own paws. She felt herself flushing red underneath her fur as her clumsiness drew a glance from the Pikachu— _Kaji,_ she reminded herself. She gave an apologetic grin, which faded from her face as soon as he looked away. Tal glanced back down at her paws. _Paws. I'm never gonna get used to that,_ she complained in her head. She continued to stare at her paws as she walked, careful of where she was placing each one.

Unaware of the blissfully wonderful day around her, Tal's mood just kept sinking and sinking. Even watching where she was walking, she had stumbled several times and bruised all four paws… at _least_ once. Her head still ached, and her thoughts seemed slow and fuzzy. And, to top it all off, her stomach was starting to rumble.

And started to get louder.

Tal suddenly realized that it wasn't her stomach, as she felt the tremor rising up through her legs, and the rumbling grew even _louder_. Tal froze, staring down at the ground in shock. _An earthquake?_ Without warning, the ground bucked, and she found herself launched through the air, to smash back down after a few impossibly long seconds.

Then, as quickly as the quake had come, it subsided. Tal didn't move, her eyes still clenched shut against the now sharp pain, spread across her whole body. She could hear Kaji, groaning in pain she could only imagine was similar to hers— she hadn't been watching him when the tremor started, but she was sure it wasn't pleasant. Finally, she cracked one eye open, and saw him clambering to his feet. Letting out a short moan, more of protest than pain by now, she began pushing herself up as well.

"Wow," she heard the Pikachu mutter. "What was that all about?"

Tal didn't answer. Did he expect her to know? She stood all the way up, grimacing at the ache now firmly settled in her limbs. Strangely enough, though… the pain wasn't actually as bad as she expected it to be. In fact, she seemed to be recovering quite nicely. Glancing over at Kaji, she saw that he appeared to be doing okay as well, and decided not to mention it. _I guess it's just one more thing about being a Pokemon_.

However… Something about what Kaji had said caught her attention. She was about to ask him what he meant, when—

—A scream pierced through the air!


	2. Trouble

**Rescue Team Adventures: Chasing the Sky  
Chapter II: Trouble  
**

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A/N: Well, I figured that since the chapters are shorter, the update time ought to be as well. Thanks, you all, for the turnout and support. 68 hits on the first chapter alone? WOW. Look for the next chapter by Sunday.

As usual, reviews are not only welcomed, but actively encouraged. ;) Enjoy.

* * *

Both Tal and Kaji gasped, startled by the sudden scream. The possibilities played over and over in each of their minds; it took only moments before both rushed through the trees, heading in the general direction of the sound.

Tal quickly fell behind, unaccustomed to running in her new, small form. She let out a noise of frustration as she saw Kaji get further and further ahead, and tried to pick up speed. For a few seconds, she felt the shift come easily— then, one paw caught on a branch— she tried to recover, but only succeeded in tripping further; the world started spinning, faster and faster, as she rolled head over tail… finally she tumbled to a halt, lying on her side. Tal groaned, and rolled back over to her feet, before shaking herself off. _Why can't I seem to do anything **right**?_ she demanded of herself.

Kaji was nowhere in sight. Sighing, she started off towards where she thought he had went. "The world's just out to get me," she muttered, still gloomy.

The Eevee found the scent of fresh, cool air reaching her nose. She paused for a second, unsure of whether or not she wanted to _sniff_ her way out. Sighing, she tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and inhaled anyways, her chest ballooning out with the overly deep breath. She… she was just _smelling_ the air, she told herself. She wasn't doing anything unnatural.

But… she _could_ smell cooler air… and when she thought about it, so many other things, and all of them seemed familiar. It was just like… like she had never really paid any attention to them before. The pine, the loam… dozens of different kinds of flowers. To her new senses, able to pick out each and every thing she was scenting, it was wonderful. It was so rich, yet still refreshing.

Then she caught hold of two strange scents… one of which, when she thought it over, she determined to be Kaji's. Tal opened her eyes, starting in that direction. All the while, she marveled at her newfound ability, taking a strange sense of self-pride in what she had just done.

As she grew closer, she could see that the trees stopped here. "Wait, she was right behind me a second ago," she heard drifting back to her, and grinned despite herself.

"I'm here," Tal said, coming through the tree line. The sight before her, however, left her suddenly speechless.

Now she realized why the tree line had stopped. There was an almost sheer cliff just a few feet away, overlooking an absolutely humongous valley. She could see the shine of silver snaking its way through a forest, knowing it to be a river. Her eyes followed it to a large lake out further, over which was flying a flock of some kind of bird… "Wow," was all she was able to get out, momentarily forgetting why she had even come over this way.

She wasn't allowed long to remain forgetful. Kaji walked over, tugging gently at the ruff of fur around her neck to get her attention. "Her son, Caterpie, fell into a crack that opened up in the cliff, when that earthquake happened."

Tal snapped her head around, noticing the Butterfree who was hovering directly next to them. Beneath Butterfree was a jagged crack that opened up into the Cliffside.

The glorious mood Tal had been experiencing completely disappeared as she saw the anxiety painted in the Butterfree's expression. She didn't even understand _how_ she could understand the Bug-type Pokemon's emotions… And she didn't stop to question.

"The ground just split wide open beneath him… a-and…and he disappeared," Butterfree said, her voice breaking. "I-I couldn't see him in there… and… he's not— not—" She started shaking, unable to go on.

"It'll be okay," Tal said automatically, trying to sound soothing.

Kaji nodded. "We'll help you find him!"

"Wait…wha?" Tal looked over at Kaji, her eyes wide. The Pikachu almost immediately returned her bewildered look, not understanding how they could do anything else. "Uh… Yeah!" the Eevee finally said, sounding confident. Butterfree, who had herself become unnerved when Tal seemed to balk, smiled, and Tal thought she saw tears come to the other Pokemon's eyes. The smaller Eevee didn't break eye contact, though she felt herself growing more and more uncomfortable— with her own reaction.

It wasn't as if she wouldn't help! _I was caught off guard,_ she told herself… Sighing mentally, she nodded once more, as if she needed to confirm it for her _own_ reassurance, rather than the grieving mother.

Meanwhile, Kaji was starting to come up with an idea. "It looks like some of the cracks go all the way to the bottom… he might have fallen out into the forest," he said, cautiously.

Butterfree inhaled sharply. Her stare turned unerringly towards the woods below.

Tal and Kaji also approached the edge of the cliff, as Butterfree hovered a few feet out over it. Tal was the first to venture to speak. "That's… good, right? That means he's not stuck in the cliff?"

Butterfree didn't turn back to them, tears now flowing freely down her face. Tal knew, as she shrunk back in embarrassment, that these were no longer tears of happiness. "He's too young to be out all alone! He could have wandered off and gotten lost and…" She sighed, before she started quivering so badly that she had to land.

Kaji placed a sympathetic paw on her shoulder. "Tal's right, it'll be okay. You should start looking for him— we'll meet you down there."

Butterfree nodded, still miserable, but some of the light was returning to her eyes. Without a farewell and without warning, she launched herself from the cliff, determined to clear her head enough to help her son.

Kaji and Tal watched as she descended, the small little Normal type wished she could disappear. Kaji wasn't helping that feeling.

"What was that about?" he asked her, as soon as he was sure Butterfree was out of earshot.

Tal's long ears folded back against her head and neck. "You just caught me off guard," she said; "That's _all_."

Kaji seemed startled by her sudden sullenness. He hadn't meant to implicate her or anything… he thought it was a valid question. _Apparently not,_ he thought, becoming more and more perplexed by this Eevee. Exasperated, he moved towards the crack in the ground.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Tal suddenly asked.

Kaji glanced up, amused. "Going down through the crack. I didn't suggest it to Butterfree because I think she's too big, but we should be able to fit just fine." He almost laughed, seeing Tal's reluctance. "You didn't think I intended to _jump_ off the cliff, did you?"

"Well… no, but…"

"We have to, to be sure that Caterpie _didn't_ get stuck in here." Then, he really did laugh at his companion, whom he realized was starting to balk again. "C'mon, ladies first," he said, gesturing to the crevice. Tal approached the hole in the ground uncertainly, pawing at it. He expression softened. "You know, if you're scared, I don't mind going first."

Apparently he had said the wrong thing, yet again. Kaji found himself at the end of Tal's deathly glare, wondering what he'd done _now_. She offered no explanation, however, simply turning and descending into the crack. As he watched, her tail was the only thing left above ground, and then that, too, disappeared. Kaji sighed, giving up on trying to figure out what he had done wrong. "Girls are too complicated," he muttered.

* * *

_Scared? No, I'm not **scared**! I'd just rather not be in a giant hole in the ground. Especially after an earthquake! What about aftershocks? We could get crushed,_ she complained inside her head. Tal didn't know why she didn't simply voice some of these thoughts and carry on a conversation with the Pikachu now crawling down behind her, but somehow she just felt more comfortable keeping her 'conversations' private. It was… just too _weird_, talking with Pokemon, she thought. Inside, Tal hoped she'd be able to turn back into a human _soon_.

Caught up in such thoughts, she slipped, yet _again_. She let out a frustrated sigh, quickly catching herself. She was unaccustomed to walking on four paws… so climbing head first down a near vertical, almost pitch black hole in the ground was just a bit out of her area of expertise. Carefully, she righted herself, holding her tail out for balance, and then continued on. For a moment, she considered pulling her tail in closer to herself, realizing that it must be blocking Kaji's field of vision. Then again… she wasn't sure how comfortable she was with him climbing down _behind_ her… Snorting, she puffed her tail up as big as she could possibly get it, waving it around, almost defiantly.

She continued down, hoping she wouldn't fall. She wasn't sure how deep this crack went, but she really didn't want to find out. Silence prevailed for several minutes.

Then, below her, something caught her eye. "Hey, Kaji, I think we've reached the end of the tunnel." The Eevee scrambled the last few feet down to the opening, where light was undeniably shining through. She stuck her head out eagerly, wanting to feel the fresh air again. Her enthusiasm was dulled rather quickly, though. "Uh…"

"What is it?" the voice from above her asked. "I can't see past your tail."

"The, uh… the crack doesn't go all the way to the ground," Tal finally admitted, yet again regretting the decision to come along.

"What? How high up are we?"

"About… ten feet?"

"What?" Kaji said again, this time sounding incredulous. "That's it? You had me worried," he said; he tossed her an accusing look, even though he was well aware that she couldn't see it. "Just jump down."

Tal, on the other hand, who was more than happy to use her Pokemon-given senses, was not so willing to test out her jumping ability. For starters, she did _not_ enjoy heights. She just hovered there on the edge for a few moments, trying to steel herself up— she could practically feel Kaji's growing impatience behind her— finally, she swallowed hard, and tensed her muscles, readying herself for the suicidal leap.

And then she was in midair. As horrible as it had seemed at first, Tal had to admit that she felt pure exhilaration as she soared through the air. _It feels like I'm flying!_ Then the ground came racing back up towards her.

Fast.

She was dimly aware of Kaji leaping down near her, and gushing out some sentiment or another. All she really heard was 'Are you alright?'

"Swell," Tal mumbled, dragging herself up, and wondering how often she'd be doing this before she got her own two legs back. Staggering a bit, she shook her head, immediately regretting such an action. She blanched, feeling like she might throw up, and wondering if her nose was broken.

"Uh… good," Kaji said, not sure what Tal's response meant, and just hoping it was positive. "We should probably move on," he said, looking over at the woods before them.

Tal was busy twitching her nose, trying to make sure her muzzle was still in its normal shape. Amazingly, she hadn't broken anything. That improved her mood somewhat, and she trotted closer to Kaji, to pose a question. "What's this place called, anyhow?"

"Tiny Woods," he replied, heading off into the forest.

Snorting, Tal looked up at the trees, which towered over both of them. "Must have been a giant who named this place, then." She wracked her brain, trying to remember if she had heard of this place. She couldn't recall having seen it on any map.

Kaji laughed. "Yeah, some really big Pokemon, probably."

_Pokemon?_ Tal wondered. _Why would Pokemon name something? Ah, it's probably just a name that the wild Pokemon gave to this place,_ she figured, giving up. Trotting alongside Kaji, she noticed that he was sniffing gently at the air as they went, and she figured on helping out.

Remembering her initial attempt at scenting something out with some embarrassment, she took a much smaller— more natural— breath, determined not to make a fool out of herself yet again. Hundreds of smells flooded into her nostrils, and she found she could pick out any one of them, just like before. Tal practically laughed out loud, still thrilled by this newfound (and comparatively safer) ability. Suddenly, something familiar caught her attention… A scent, very similar to Butterfree's!

"Hey! I think I've got something!" she cried, sounding triumphant. Without waiting for Kaji, she took off in that direction, trusting that he would be behind her.

_See, I can do this just as good as any Pokemon!_ Determined to find the little lost Caterpie, she ignored Kaji yelling her name from behind, bidding her slow down. "No way I'm slowing down!" she said out loud, leaping over a cluster of roots that lied in her way. Her successful jump only heightened her feelings of accomplishment. As she ran, she inhaled again through her sensitive nose, growing excited as her target got closer and closer.

As she rounded a tree, Tal suddenly yelped, slamming to a halt.

The little Eevee wasn't able to halt her own momentum, though, and tumbled headfirst down the slope she had come to. Though she quickly righted herself, she slid all the way to the bottom of the depression. All around her, glowing eyes were opening, glaring at the intruder in their home.

Tal's ears and tail drooped, and she tried to shrink down, not understanding. _Where's Caterpie? And what are these things?_ Her ruminations were cut short, however.

A wicked gleam from nearby caught Tal's attention. All of a sudden, Tal gasped and leapt back, as its owner suddenly dropped into view.


	3. A Helping Hand

**Rescue Team Adventures: Chasing the Sky**

**Chapter III: A Helping Hand**

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A/N: I take some liberties with the story, I'll say that now. For the most part, I'll do my best to remain perfectly true to the game. But that _is_ the beautiful thing about Mystery Dungeon— it's not _that_ confining. :) 

Also, I'd like to note, I didn't intend this chapter to be so long... Just, sometimes you get on a roll. This chapter just came easily. As usual, read and enjoy. ;)

* * *

One thing Tal had never considered was that Metapod was an evolved form of Caterpie. Another, more pressing thing, however, was that Metapod were typically in trees. Leaving the ground open for other Pokemon.

Pokemon like Exeggcute.

Now understanding how she had been misled, it didn't make her feel any better.

Trembling, Tal started backpedaling, but found her tail and hind legs coming up short against the dirt embankment that ringed this nest. A sound of fright escaped her throat as the egg-like Pokemon crept up to her, eyes glowing. As Tal looked across the group, she gulped, seeing that there were _dozens_ of them! _Why aren't they doing anything?_ For some reason, that unnerved the little Eevee more than if they had started attacking her.

She tried to wrack her brain for information on Exeggcute, but she couldn't think. In fact, she couldn't even move. All she could do was continue to stare at them, entranced.

The advancing Pokemon began moving faster, until those near the front seemed to be throwing themselves at her. Somewhere in the back of her head, Tal dimly recalled this attack as Barrage, but didn't move.

A burst of lightning in the space between her and the Exeggcute snapped Tal back to reality— and, more importantly, halted the imminent attack. Startled, Tal started shifting around, not understanding what had just happened. The wild Pokemon seemed just as confused— some even seemed injured, probably caught close enough to the bolt of lightning to get struck._ But where did it come from?_

"Come on!" she heard from above her. Craning her neck, Tal caught sight of Kaji perched on top of the slope. "Don't just sit there! Run!"

No longer held in Exeggcute's hypnotic stare, she quickly spun and leapt up, clawing at the soil in a desperate effort to get out of the nest. The slighted Exeggcute were not so easily dissuaded, though, and Tal cried out in pain as one of their flying bodies slammed into her side— a repeated Barrage attack.

Kaji didn't miss the attack. Nor did he miss the numerous Pokemon ascending the slope after Tal, and the danger she was suddenly in. He growled to himself, before taking off down the slope himself.

Just then, Tal looked up, and almost gasped as she saw a yellow blur go by, slamming into a group of the living eggs nearby. _He's moving so fast!_ she thought, awe struck. _Of course, a Quick Attack._ Aware that Kaji was only down there to buy her time to get back up the slope, she didn't hesitate any longer in doing so. Though she heard many thuds below, she wasn't struck again, and shortly crested the top of the slope.

Breathing heavily, as much from nerves as from exertion, she turned around to see Kaji fending off several groups of the things. Feeling helpless, there was little she could _but_ watch. After a few harrowing moments, she finally yelled out; "_Kaji!_"

Wondering if Tal was in trouble again, Kaji spun in place. He saw her standing on top of the rise. Before he could yell anything up to her, though, he saw her eyes go wide, and she yelled, "Look out!"

Without stopping to see where the supposed attack was coming from, Kaji leapt, arcing a couple of feet up and coming down a short ways away. Where he _had_ been standing, an angry looking Exeggcute was sitting, covered in the dirt that had been blown up as it slammed itself into the ground.

Not wishing to spend any more time down there, Kaji looked up to Tal again, who was watching helplessly. Focusing inwardly, he tensed up, before streaking up the hill in another impossibly fast dash. It didn't last long, though, and he felt himself stumbling as he reached the top. Wearily, he looked up at Tal, to be sure she was alright.

She was gaping at him. "Wow!" To say she was amazed at the speed with which he could move was an understatement.

There was no time for admiration though. "Come on, we're not safe yet," he muttered, grabbing at the ruff of fur around her neck and pulling her away from the Exeggcute's nest. It only took a few steps before she ran of her own volition, but that didn't help much— the wild cries behind them were incredibly close, _far_ too close for comfort.

With this threat bearing down on them, both of the small Pokemon kept running, keeping a hard pace. Soon, Tal's breathing was becoming labored, and she stumbled often. Kaji couldn't get too upset with her for tiring; he could feel his own steps becoming sluggish— the battle against multiple opponents had taken a toll. Nevertheless, he kept up the rigorous pace until the angry cries of the Exeggcute had faded away.

"Wow," Tal repeated, a bit breathlessly, once they had finally stopped to rest. "How did you fight them all off?" she asked, incredulous.

Kaji gave her a confused look, but it was a few moments before he had enough breath in him to respond. "What? There were only a few of them."

_Few?_ In embarrassment, Tal suddenly remembered that there were multiple eggs to one Exeggcute. What she had taken for a horde, had in fact been only four or five Pokemon. Only to further her shame, Kaji suddenly rounded on her.

"Why'd you take off like that?" he demanded. "And why the _heck_ did you go after those Exeggcute?"

"What?" Tal exclaimed. "I thought I was smelling Caterpie," she added, sounding sullen. "Why are you going off on _me?_ _They_ were the ones who attacked."

_Only because you walked into their nest,_ Kaji found himself thinking; but, tactfully, he kept this thought silent. Instead, he sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter now, we're probably too far away from where we started to be of any help to Butterfree now."

Mention of their intended task put out any flames of anger Tal might have been stoking, and she looked away, feeling guilty. Her euphoria from earlier had now completely disappeared— however, Kaji didn't share her hopeless assessment of the situation. He kept moving, and Tal quickly found herself forced to follow, or be left behind.

The two continued moving through the Tiny Woods, silent. Around them, the noises of wild Pokemon drifted on the wind. Tal found herself shivering as one particularly disturbing cry came from practically right behind her. Nervous, she trotted up to walk next to Kaji, scared of walking alone.

Kaji glanced over at her, and tried to grin, but found himself nervous as well.

"Why don't any of them sound friendly?" Tal asked in a small voice.

Kaji shrugged, looking around. "Things have been getting weird lately. Natural disasters…"

"The earthquake," Tal inserted.

Kaji nodded. "Floods, eruptions, storms… It's been putting everyone on edge. A lot of Pokemon have been acting really strange, too." Kaji now looked at Tal, and a second thought passed through his mind. Suddenly, he found himself trying to keep from laughing.

"What?" Tal said, whirling her head around to look at him.

"Nothing," Kaji said, his eyes betraying him.

Tal felt herself go red. "You were thinking that I'm strange!" she accused. Found out, Kaji burst out laughing, and Tal bared her teeth at him. She didn't know whether she should feel mad or embarrassed… _Probably a bit of both_, she thought, and she turned her head, refusing to look at the amused Pikachu, not wanting him to see her lose her composure.

As she shifted her glance, however… "Hey, what's that?" the Eevee asked, brow furrowed. Kaji began to calm down, his laughter fading away. Tal, meanwhile, had trotted over to whatever it was that had caught her eye. "Looks like some half-eaten berry," she commented, pawing at it.

Kaji trotted up beside her. "Half-eaten? Weird, I've never known anyone who leaves a perfectly good berry half-eaten," he added, with a small smile.

Tal snorted at the attempt at a joke. "What about those?" she asked, pointing to a series of depressions in the ground— small, ovular tracks. "Think those belong to Caterpie?"

"What?" Kaji turned to inspect the tracks himself. "Well I'll be," he said softly, to himself. "It could be!" Then he began doing something that shocked Tal— he actually got down near the ground, sniffing at the dirt itself. "Funny," he muttered.

Tal poked at the tracks herself. "What's so funny?"

Kaji frowned. "I smell other Pokemon. Right here, really recently."

Growing nervous again, Tal shifted back and forth on her four feet. "You… you think they could be looking for Caterpie too?"

"Yeah, actually," Kaji said. _But not to help,_ he added, silently. However, his companion seemed reassured by his words, so he saw no need to make her believe otherwise. Staring at Tal, he wondered about her. He had really only been joking when he had called her strange, but… she really _was_ very different from every other Pokemon he knew. _I wonder what your home is like_, he thought to himself. About then, though, he was a bit more worried about being able to get out of _this_ forest than about finding another one.

They moved off in the direction the tracks moved, now looking around for any other sign of the lost Bug-type Pokemon. However, neither seemed confident enough to actually start calling out for him… afraid of other things that might be listening.

* * *

_Momma…_

High up in a tree, hungry, cold, trembling… Caterpie cringed, as the voices below grew even more angry and violent. He hadn't _meant_ to fall into the forest! He was just trying to find his way out… And then _they_ started chasing him! Whimpering, he curled in on himself, trying to cling even tighter to the tree branch. He just wanted to be home, with his momma…

* * *

"What do you smell?" Tal asked, still a bit humiliated from her encounter with the Exeggcute. Kaji hadn't said anything about it, and he didn't seem to mind that she was no longer trying to help track, so she figured better safe than sorry.

"I don't know." Kaji was now sure they were on the right track, but it was obvious that there were other Pokemon on this trail as well. He was trying to gather as many clues as he could— Tal didn't seem to understand why he _kept_ tracking the trail. True, it hadn't exactly turned… another reason to think it was the young, inexperienced Caterpie. "I think we're getting close."

"Good," Tal said, with a sigh. She knew that they were doing the right thing… she just wanted to hurry up, and get the right thing over with and get back to being a human. Distracted by her thoughts, she didn't realize that Kaji had stopped, until she had passed by him. Frowning, she turned to face him. "What's up?"

Kaji held a finger up to his mouth in warning. "Shh," he said quietly. "Listen."

With the silence, Tal's large ears easily caught the sound, and her head swiveled, zeroing in on it. "Sounds like a bunch of dogs barking," she commented. Something occurred to her then… _Dogs like to chase other animals up trees…_ "Hey, let's go," she said, starting off towards it. Kaji gave her a strange look, which she returned with a glare. She knew what she was doing this time! Without a word, she started off towards the barking— this time at a trot that the quick little Pikachu had no problem keeping up with.

With her cautious pace, Tal had no problem seeing the danger well before she reached it— a group of Poochyena surrounding a tree. She grinned triumphantly, and started creeping forward to get a better view of the tree.

Kaji followed, a bit more cautiously, as his vivid coloring made him stand out much easier than the brown and white Eevee.

"Look up there," Tal whispered. "Caterpie!"

There was still a problem, though. Kaji was still looking at the Poochyena around the base of the tree. This wouldn't be a case of stopping them for just long enough to get away… _We may have to fight every single one of them off,_ he thought, growing worried. He was still a bit tired from his first fight this afternoon… not to mention that he had been walking for the better part of an hour, and hadn't eaten anything for a while. With a glance at Tal, he saw the triumph on her face fading, and figured that similar things were running through her head. He looked back at the pack of little wolves. _What am I thinking? We can't just leave him there!_ "Come on," Kaji finally said, nudging Tal.

She gave him a frightened look, but only held back for a moment. _This Pokemon is going to get me killed sooner or later,_ she moaned inwardly. However, she was too afraid that the Poochyena would hear to express herself aloud.

Now they were only about fifteen feet away. The two small Pokemon hid behind trees, looking out across the group, counting six. Looking over at Tal, Kaji wondered if she was about to be sick. Sighing quietly, he leaned towards her. "Tal," he said, his eyes darting over to the Poochyena nervously. Luckily, they were too excited with their 'catch' to notice. "Tal, I need you to distract them."

Now he was _sure_ she was going to get sick. Through her thick fur, Kaji thought he could see the Eevee visibly pale. "Uh… no problem…" she said, not whispering, but in a voice small enough that it didn't matter. Very hesitantly, she began taking steps towards the group of Poochyena.

Up in the tree, Caterpie stretched himself out to get a better view; he looked down, and gasped. _Who's that?_ A small squeak escaped his mouth, but he quickly scrunched back down, as the pack beneath him started getting even more excited as they saw him loosen his grip on the branch. Terrified himself, he stuck himself back to the branch, not even wanting to think about what could happen in he fell down to the waiting pack… He clenched his eyes shut. _Please hurry!_

Meanwhile, back on the ground… Somewhere in the back of her mind, Tal had devised a plan to tackle one of the Poochyena to get their attention. That plan didn't seem possible at the moment though; her breathing grew shallow, and she began to shake.

"Uh… uh…" _Just get their attention!_ Tal found that she suddenly didn't need to worry about that, as one of them turned to face her.

"_Hey!_" he yelped, and as one, the rest of the pack turned to face her. "Get it!" someone else yelled, and Tal cried out.

"No! Wait!" It didn't matter; her protests fell on deaf ears— whose owners decided that they'd rather chase this new Pokemon, which was on the ground and in reach. One of them leapt at her, jaws open as if to nip at her. Terrified, she jumped almost straight up, leaving the Poochyena to plow headfirst into the dirt. A second later, she came down on top of it, slamming it back to the ground— unintentional, but effective. Still, she hadn't been expecting to come down on top of her attacker, and she slipped, leaving her legs splayed.

The others were just as surprised as she was, and had halted to watch. The one beneath her, however, growled, and rolled to its side, dumping her off. Scrabbling to regain her feet before it did, she found herself suddenly surrounded by the other five Poochyena, who were also growling.

Petrified, she froze, as the one she had fallen on righted himself, shaking the dirt out of his fur. "No one gets away with attacking me!" he yipped, before launching himself at Tal. She spun to flee, but found two more of the little dogs blocking her path; she then realized that that was what they were doing, circling up— cutting off any escape route. Fearful, she turned to face the attacking Poochyena— he was shooting towards her. She dodged to the side. She didn't as lucky as she had the first time; he slid to a halt, before spinning to face her.

Without warning, all six Poochyena plus the Eevee felt an electrical shock go through them. Crying out, several of them collapsed— Tal, luckily, managed to keep her feet. Unfortunately, the one bent on hurting her so badly did too.

Seeing an opening towards the tree that they had been circling, Tal dashed past him, desperate to make the opening before he could cut her off.

At the same time, Kaji had streaked out of his hiding place, delivering a well-placed Quick Attack to the side of one of the paralyzed Poochyena. It stumbled to its feet, deciding that it no longer wished to be a part of this battle. Another turned towards him, trying to tackle him. Kaji was too quick, however, and jumped back, summoning up his electrical powers again. This time, the attacking Pokemon received a full bolt of lightning— a successful Thunder-shock. This attacker was left unconscious Satisfied that he was doing well, Kaji didn't check to be sure that his enemies were all actually paralyzed. As he turned to help Tal, something crashed into his back, sending him tumbling. Crying out in pain, the Pikachu turned himself over to see one of the Poochyena shaking himself— Kaji realized then that he had tried to spread his paralyzing Thunder-wave too far… too far to be effective.

Tal, too, noticed that the effects of the Thunder-wave were wearing off too soon, and that the two Poochyena she was trying to dart between were coming to their feet; it put them in a perfect position to corner her with her back against the tree. However, with the other one right at her heels, she couldn't spin around and take a different direction. Instead, she poured on the speed, barely missing the snapping jaws, and darted up the side of the tree, just barely managing to get her front legs up over a low branch. The tree rocked as three Poochyena smashed into the bottom of its trunk.

Above her, Tal suddenly heard a cry. She glanced upwards, almost crying out herself, as she saw Caterpie now hanging upside down from a branch. "Hold on!" she yelled up to him.

Beneath her, the Poochyena were growling again— then one jumped up, biting at her still-dangling feet. Between that and Caterpie's cries, she decided that she needed to move. Struggling, she kicked her hind-feet up, trying to get up onto the branch.

The wiggling target, though, just got the Poochyena below even more excited. One tensed himself up, straining as hard as he could, before he sprung—

Tal cried out in pain as she felt a pair of powerful jaws clamp down on her leg. She suddenly slipped down, losing much of her grip on the branch. Tears came to her eyes as she struggled to continue clinging to the branch, and still deal with the pain in her leg— not just the teeth, but now she had all of the Poochyena's weight hanging off of her. Growling with happiness, it twisted its head a bit, trying to pull her back down with it.

Nearby, Kaji had caught her cries of distress, and called back to her. Unfortunately, this had also caught the attention of one of the two still on the ground, who decided that since his buddy already had the Eevee, he wanted his fair chance at the other one. Meanwhile, Tal was recalling, somehow, that Poochyena had incredibly powerful jaws. _I'm going to lose my grip before it does,_ Tal thought to herself. Desperately, she started kicking at its face with her good leg. She hit his nose once, making it snort and yank painfully at her leg. Slowly, she could see herself sliding off of the branch. Getting an idea, Tal started trying to guess where its eye was— she wasn't sure, but she was about to completely slip off, so she curled up her left leg, before kicking out as hard as she could.

She exhaled loudly in relief, as she heard a yelp of pain, and the weight pulling on her right leg dropped away. Another cry from below suggested that he had fallen on top of his pack-mate. Not caring, Tal heaved herself up, straining, and finally managed to get all four limbs up on the branch. _Now,_ she thought wearily, _for Caterpie._

The crack of electricity brought her head around. Nearby, Kaji was trying to get off another of his powerful electrical attacks… however, the two Poochyena harassing him weren't giving him a chance. Uncertain of what she should do, Tal froze for a moment. Kaji managed to look up for just long enough to see her indecision, and shouted, "Get Caterpie!" He was cut off as one of the canines attacked him again.

However… Tal still didn't move; she felt so useless! She _wanted_ to go help him, but she didn't know how she could… Wrapped up in these thoughts, she didn't see the red glow that was starting to surround her.

It was very difficult to miss the red glow that was surrounding Kaji, though.

As Kaji delivered a glancing blow to one of his attackers, he suddenly found that there was more strength behind his attack than he thought he could muster at the moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other one leaping at him— his reflexes somehow seemed honed, and he hopped easily out of the way.

Back up in the tree, Tal gasped. _Did I do that?_ Whatever had happened, Kaji was once more winning, and she hesitated no longer in climbing up towards Caterpie, leaping carefully from one branch to the next. Something within her couldn't help but point out that Eevee weren't built for trees.

The Poochyena below seemed to know this too. Understanding that Tal would have little grip on the branches as she jumped, they repeated their attack on the tree, butting their heads up against it. The tree didn't rock back and forth as it had before, but it still swayed enough that Tal suddenly found herself leaning in against the trunk for any measure of stability.

Higher up in the tree— Caterpie yelped, finding his hold weakened with each Tackle delivered to the base of the tree. Soon, he was dangling upside down from just a few of his feet.

Tal didn't miss this sudden problem. With one good hard attack, she felt the tree jerk beneath her, and almost slipped off. What was worse— Caterpie shrieked as he suddenly fell. "No!" Tal yelled. Almost unconsciously, she felt herself launching from the branch—

—that familiar soaring feeling—

She felt one tiny thump on her back, before crashing disastrously back to the earth. Tal couldn't hold in her grunt of pain as she connected— painfully— with the ground.

A small gasp came from above her. "Are you okay?"

Tal grinned, ironically. "Don't worry, I'm getting used to falling flat on my face."

The two that had been at the bottom of the tree had gaped as the Eevee had flown overhead, even flinching as she hit the ground. However, now realizing that they had _two_ victims for the taking. Tal rose up, gingerly; though she was afraid, she held her ground.

"Hey! Leave them alone!"

The two Poochyena turned to see a Pikachu standing behind them, cheeks crackling with electricity. Behind him, two of their pack were unconscious; one had already run off, and another was dashing off through the forest. They glanced back at Tal, who seemed to gain confidence at the sight of her companion. She bared her teeth at them, taking a step forward. It was a bluff… but faced with a threat on both sides, both of the remaining Poochyena decided that fleeing was a much better idea, and they dashed off after their fleeing friend, yipping all the way.

Sighing, Tal collapsed, sending Caterpie tumbling from her back. _Finally,_ she thought, smiling with her relief.


	4. Beginnings

**Rescue Team Adventures: Chasing the Sky  
Chapter IV: Beginnings**

* * *

A/N: Firstly, I just wanted to say… I received an interesting comment, on the last chapter. One that's had me thinking hard. Apparently, there are other stories 'like this' on this site… laughs Sorry, but I feel the need to point out: such a phenomenon _isn't_ all that rare… especially on a _fanfiction_ site. However, if any readers feel that they cannot read this story for said reason, I would just like to say that I won't hold it against you. :D  
A bit more seriously, I wasn't sure that this chapter was going to make it out on time; however, a big test got pushed back to Fri., allowing me to ease off the books for just long enough. In a similar vein, though… I _do_ have three major tests within the next week, starting _tomorrow_. Whether or not this affects the _next_ update is yet to be seen, but… just, don't lose faith in me if you don't see another chapter til next Wed. ;) And go study! Trust me, it helps.

* * *

"Ah!" Tal wondered if she should feel slightly guilty about letting Caterpie fall off her back. His cry was one of startlement, though, not pain. Perhaps because he had fallen a grand total of about seven or eight inches. _Nope_, Tal decided. _Not feeling guilty._ _Too tired for that._

Someone was yelling her name. Letting out a sigh, she opened one small, black eye to glare at Kaji. He didn't appear to notice, caught up in rushing over to her and Caterpie.

"What can I do you for?" she asked him sardonically.

"Huh?"

Sigh. "What do you want," she moaned (— less of a question than a complaint), rolling over on her side. Now that the adrenaline rush of facing of a pack of Poochyena was waning, she just wanted to rest.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked. Despite her annoyance at him, Tal took a second look back at the Pikachu, who seemed genuinely concerned.

_I shouldn't be so rude to him… after all… I'd be lost and alone right now, if it weren't for him. _She sighed again, stretching out and twisting her head to look at Caterpie— still unwilling to get up. "Caterpie… are you alright?"

The tiny insect nodded, his eyes seeming to light up with a new burst of happiness. "You saved me! That was so _cool!_"

"Uh…" What was she supposed to say to that? "You're welcome?" Tal finally responded, a bit uncertain. "Ah!" She cried out, as Caterpie suddenly jumped on her and started nuzzling her with his head. The Eevee was more than just a little freaked out by the sudden display of affection, but after a moment came to realize that without anything that even remotely resembled hands or arms… This was probably the equivalent of a hug. Tal glanced helplessly at Kaji, who was trying not to bust out laughing. Eventually, she brought a paw up to awkwardly pat Caterpie on the… back?... Whatever it was.

Kaji continued to smile at the scene. For some reason, he didn't feel upset that Tal was suddenly the center of attention. He had to admit… Her death defying leap… it _had_ been pretty cool. _She didn't fight… but still, she found a way to save him. A kind of ingenuity… _He was intrigued by the whole ordeal. Now that they had found Caterpie, and the Poochyena were gone…

"_Caterpie!!_" To casual bystanders, it would appear that a purple blur streaked from nearby to quite literally bowl over both the Eevee and Caterpie. When everyone stopped moving, it became more apparent that the blur was in fact Butterfree, who was now hugging her now-found son, pouring out words, telling him how she thought she would never see him again, and how sad she had been, and how happy she was now. He, too, was relating his ordeal, now only a fading memory that didn't seem so bad in his young mind, since it was over.

"Wow," Kaji remarked, a bit taken aback by the sudden arrival of Butterfree. "How did you find us?"

It seemed at first that Butterfree wouldn't be able to tear her eyes away from her baby, but finally, she turned to them. "I heard sounds of battle, and saw flashes of electricity. I figured it had to be you," she admitted. Her eyes began overflowing with grateful tears. "You found him! Thank you!"

Tal— who had finally gotten up— blushed slightly in embarrassment. Turning to Kaji, she noticed that he was having a similar reaction. "Don't worry about it," Kaji finally said, speaking for both of them. "I mean… ah… what else would we have done?"

"Cooooool!" Caterpie squealed. "You guys are so….so… noble!"

"How does he even know a word like 'noble'?" Tal whispered to Kaji, still slightly disturbed by this Pokemon's apparent fascination with the impromptu rescue. Kaji just shrugged, also at a loss for what to do with this apparent… fan.

Butterfree laughed, though. "You're right!" She calmed, looking between the two. "How can I repay you?"

Now _both_ of them flushed in discomfiture. "Uh… I mean… n-nothing… really, we're fine…" Neither of them seemed to be able to form a coherent sentence. This didn't appear to bother Butterfree, though. She dismissed their concerns with a wave of her hand, refusing to hear any of it.

"Nonsense. You have to let me do something for you. After all," she added, with a tender glance towards her offspring, "you saved my whole world."

At this point, Tal found herself wondering if it was even possible to become more embarrassed than they already were. It certainly didn't appear so. She peeked over at Kaji, who seemed just as lost for words as she was. _Great._ Finally, something occurred to her, and in a little voice… "Um… I think there is _something_ you could do," she started, hesitant. "Uh… I mean… well, we got kind of lost, so uh…"

Butterfree caught on, and nodded. "Where are you going? I can show you the way, no problem."

Tal hastily tried to correct herself; "Oh, no, I just meant, you know, could you point us in the right direction!"

But the older Pokemon shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous; we can take you!"

Tal looked over at Kaji, and shrugged. He gave her a look, as if to say, _what do you expect me to do?_ However, Tal didn't let up on her pleading stare, and Kaji sighed. Giving up on arguing, though, he finally said, "We were going to the town."

"Really?" Caterpie piped up. "We were too!"

"That's right," Butterfree said, with an affectionate nod to her child. "So you see? It's really not an inconvenience at all."

With that, Kaji seemed satisfied; so, as a group, they started off, following Butterfree's lead.

Though Tal didn't want to admit, she was too anxious to get back to town and to get back to being a human… From the moment Butterfree offered, she had _wanted_ to accept, so _badly_… Trying to remain polite, she had held off. _But it all worked out, see?_ What was she so worried over? Everyone was okay, and it wouldn't take long before her problem was fixed!

"You know, you've taken a real short cut," Butterfree called back to them, with a laugh. "Going down that cliff and straight through the forest? It should only be about a couple of hours before we reach the town."

_A couple…of **hours**?_ Tal sent a glare at Kaji.

"What?" he said, pretending to sound hurt.

"You said we were a short ways away! And that was up there."

"Well yeah. We were only about a half-day out."

Tal's only response was a bitter sigh. She would have bemoaned her own bad luck, but thought better of doing so…out loud. After all, they had Caterpie with them, so they had to go slow… And besides, as a Pokemon, she seemed a bit more predisposed to endurance than any human. Relaxing, she tried to just enjoy the walk.

"Hey," she heard a voice call softly. Turning her head, she looked at Kaji questioningly. "You were pretty good back there," he said, approvingly.

Confused, Tal frowned. "What do you mean? I wasn't even able to fight them," she added, somewhat dejectedly. _Why am I disappointed in myself? Not fighting is a good thing! I'm still **alive**!_ "You were the one who took out… what, four of them?"

Kaji shrugged, but continued smiling. "They were just Poochyena. They weren't that tough." _Great,_ Tal thought, _that makes me feel even better about running from them._ "What gets me, though," he started, his smile fading, "is why they were even there. I mean… I've been through the Tiny Woods a bunch of times, and I've never seen or heard any Poochyena…"

Looking for a chance to turn the conversation away from the battle (and thus, her lack of participation in said battle), Tal seized this new topic. "Really? Is that, y'know, really strange… I mean around here," she added hastily.

Kaji took a long time in answering. "I guess not." He looked at the ground, recalling the events of recent weeks. "There have been a lot of natural disasters lately. It's been making everyone really nervous… you know, on edge. Some Pokemon have just been going plain wild."

A memory suddenly jumped to the forefront of Tal's mind. "The earthquake!... And, you think the Poochyena were there because…"

Kaji didn't reply, just shrugging. "That's just what people have been saying. I dunno…" he trailed off.

Tal was too busy to notice; she suddenly felt as she had when Kaji's Thunder-wave had hit her. It was like an electric shock, and a cold chill, all at once. She could feel the fur going on end, all the way down her spine, and her tail bottle-brushed. Something about what he had said… those natural disasters. Why did that make her feel so uncomfortable? Somehow… somehow she felt like this was all intertwined… For the first time, she found herself wondering, _why did I become a Pokemon?_

* * *

"There it is!" Butterfree finally announced, as the group of four crested a hill. It was a magnificent sight— absolutely breathtaking. Despite the gorgeous view, the pause was short. Without waiting any longer, they continued on. This close to sunset, they couldn't afford any stops if they wanted to get in before dark— on the road, they had barely stopped for a meal, practically having to walk and eat. Meanwhile, Tal kept her eyes on the town; she couldn't help but feel happy, just looking at it. Her tail was wagging back and forth behind her, and she wondered if it was just instinctual 

But deeper in her, she felt disappointment, cold and heavy. There was no sign of human-kind— anywhere. As the group finally came into town, they passed by shops and houses… all ran and occupied by Pokemon. Tal tried to swallow that steadily growing lump in her throat, to hold on to that happiness she had felt just a short while ago. _There are no people here,_ she finally had to admit. What did that mean? Tal felt herself begin to tremble, and she suddenly screwed up her face, looking away from everyone… trying not to cry.

"Tal?" Kaji's tone was one of mere curiosity, not concern… After a moment, Tal turned to him, determined that she wouldn't act like anything was wrong.

"What's up?"

"You know how we rescued Caterpie? Well…" He trailed off, as Butterfree and Caterpie suddenly stopped, and turned to them.

"Do you two know where you're going from here?"

"Yep," Kaji answered instantly, though Tal blanched.

"Alright then," Butterfree said, happiness shining across her face. "Then this is where we part ways. Thank you, again…" she added.

It was Tal who responded, before Kaji tried to insist that it was nothing. "You're welcome." With a nod, Butterfree and Caterpie turned, going off down a small path leading towards the north of town. "So… what were you saying?" she asked Kaji, desperate for some kind of conversation to keep her mind occupied, now that she had had her horrifying revelation.

Kaji grinned. "With all these disturbances… you know, the natural disasters? Well, rescue teams have been forming up, to go out and help Pokemon in trouble. I was wondering… if you'd want to start a rescue team with me!" he finally finished in a rush.

"W-what?" Tal said, flabbergasted. "But I… I can't even fight! I'm the one that got us lost. I-I—"

"You're the one that saved Caterpie! You helped me, when I was fighting!"

"I… I did?" Tal closed her eyes, trying to think back to the fight. She had been climbing the tree, and… "Whatever that was, I don't even know how I did it," she finally said. "How's that any help?"

Kaji exhaled loudly, more for show than because of any actual annoyance. "Come on! Don't be so down on yourself," he added, slightly less vehement. And then, even softer. "Everything you did… well, I've been thinking. Fighting isn't all there is." Too embarrassed to add this part out loud, he had to content himself with thinking, _there's something about you… like a cleverness, a new way of looking at things. _"I… I think we could do this."

Tal looked away, her eyes finding their way to the ground. _Could I actually do this?... Do I **want** to do this? I think… I do!_ she thought suddenly, surprising even herself. A realization came over her. _If I can't turn back into a human… I'm lost. I have no idea of what to do or where to go… but… _"This could be a new beginning," Tal mused to herself.

_A new beginning? What does she mean by that?_ For a moment Kaji considered asking the Eevee… but then, for some reason, chose not to. _If she wants to share… she'll share_. Content, he nodded, trying to encourage Tal to accept.

Looking up, Tal noticed the other Pokemon's gesture, and grinned widely; surprisingly enough, every ounce of happiness she poured into it was real. That icy lump of disappointment wasn't gone… but, for the moment, it was being overwhelmed by the happiness Tal was feeling. _I guess this is just one of those instinct things, too._ "Alright," she said, laughing as Kaji cheered. "But on one condition."

"Huh?" Kaji said, pausing in his celebration.

"Teach me how to fight… please?" she added, uncertainly.

The Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief. "That's it? No problem…. _Whoo!_" he cheered, again. "This is awesome! A Rescue Team!!"

Tal couldn't help but laugh at his antics. "Calm down. It's too late for that kind of excitement," she said, in the tone she could hear her mother speaking in—

Her mother. Tal tried to latch on to that one memory, but it evaporated, leaving her with nothing. If her face suddenly fell, Kaji took no notice, too busy noticing the ever sinking position of the sun— now balanced on the horizon.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said. "We've got to find some place to sleep… Hey, would you rather sleep indoors our outdoors?"

"Indoors," Tal replied automatically. Kaji just shrugged, though he was smiling.

"Alright then. I think I know a good place. Follow me!"

It was only a few minutes later, but they came to a halt in front of… and old, rundown hut, it looked like. _Maybe it's a shack…_ Tal thought, amused. Despite the condition and size of the building, she found that she liked it. "Great," she said, walking forward. "Can we stay here?"

Kaji nodded. "No one actually owns this place, so I don't think there'll be a problem if you stay here tonight."

"Okay… wait, me? As in, not you too?" she asked, turning to face him.

Kaji gave an uneasy smile. "Ah, you know, I'm more of a 'big open spaces' kind of Pokemon. So, uh, I'll see you in the morning?"

Tal turned back to the hut. "Yeah. See you." Behind her, she could hear Kaji pad away.

_Amazing, how easy it seems to segue into this._ Tal almost laughed. "Easy," she said quietly. "I can't fight, I don't know anything…" _Sigh._ Having succeeded at depressing herself, she saw no reason to keep standing outside; Tal trotted into the hut, deciding that she really needed to sleep.

Inside, it seemed much more cozy than one would think. A large bed of straw lay in the back on the large, one-roomed hut. Tal trotted straight over to that, determining to explore in the morning, when there would be more light. _How weird, _she thought_, just going straight to bed._ Brushing her teeth, changing clothes, turning down the covers… Sighing _again_ she hopped up onto the pile and began to settle herself.

It didn't come as too much of a surprise to discover that the straw was soft, not crackly. _Maybe it's not really straw,_ she thought with a yawn. She curled her tail up around her body, and looked up through one window hole.

Nothing but starlight. _It's pretty,_ she thought. …_How can everything be the same, and yet be so different? _That inevitably led her thoughts back to her unwonted transformation. _I guess that's going to be my goal from hereon, then. Figure out why I'm a Pokemon, and how to change back._ But somehow, that didn't seem exactly right. Her eyes explored the stars, searching for an answer

_No… I'm starting a new life, aren't I?_


	5. The First Chase

**Rescue Team Adventures: Chasing the Sky  
Chapter V: The First Chase**

* * *

A/N: Ah, finally, another chapter, eh? Those who typically leave reviews anonymously will notice that anonymous reviews have been disabled. Unfortunately, someone decided that, though they didn't like my story, they would continue to read it, leaving scathing reviews that had very little to do with said story— opposed to the advice I offered last chapter. Since I don't exactly enjoy being harassed, I chose to disable this option. So, I'd like to apologize for that to those of you who didn't do anything wrong. sighs Maybe some time in the future I'll be able to turn it back on.

Luckily, this has no effect on your ability to read the story. ;)

(Within the story… I realize that the rescue badge is white and _pink_, not blue… but I figure they can't all look exactly alike, so the colors will distinguish them. :D )

So… As always, read and enjoy. :)

* * *

_What a strange place…_

Tal wasn't quite sure whether she was awake or not; dimly aware of her surroundings, she realized that something wasn't quite normal. Somehow it felt… like it wasn't exactly real. Reality itself seemed like something strange… as if her own perception was warping, along with the word outside of her consciousness.

Suddenly, the Eevee felt a strange presence go through her. Like there was something at her back. She tried to turn to face it, but…

No. There was nothing.

And nothing was exactly what this place became. The strange reality disappeared as she slipped back into unconsciousness.

When Tal awoke several hours later, she experienced a few moments of disorientation… But it didn't take long before she once again realized she was a Pokemon. Alone, and somewhat prepared for this shock, she didn't do more than gasp once, before recollections of the previous day filtered into her still groggy head. "Hmmm," she sighed, laying her head back down to curl up in her soft straw. Her thoughts now monopolized by her ponderings over this strange transformation, the dream of last night slowly slipped away, until she had forgotten it completely.

"I guess it's no use," Tal muttered, thinking that there was no way she could get back to sleep again. "Might as well get up."

With light now pouring through the open windows on the front of the house— which, upon closer inspection, were revealed to be open by default… no glass, just holes in the wall— Tal figured now was a perfect time for an inspection of her new abode.

She supposed it was pretty small. Nevertheless, she found herself liking it. _Besides, what with how small I am now… this seems pretty spacious,_ she thought to herself, amused.

There wasn't much to explore, though, so Tal wandered on outside.

"Hey, Tal!" Turning her head to identify the source— who else but Kaji? —she smiled as the Pikachu ran up the path. She noticed that he ran awkwardly— a large box, or package, maybe, was hanging from a strap on his shoulder.

"Kaji! Uh, what's that?" Tal asked, trying not to grin as Kaji stopped, and started leaning hazardously to one side. "I mean, you're a little lopsided."

Not rising to the bait, Kaji shrugged the strap off and let the box slide to the ground. "It's a rescue team kit! Look," he said, growing excited. He flipped open the box's top as Tal drew closer to inspect it.

The inside of the box revealed several little compartments— and sitting in one near the top was a beautiful, shining, badge. Tal could swear it was glowing. Kaji didn't miss her staring at it, and chuckled.

"That's a rescue team badge. It make us official," he declared proudly. After all, this was something to be proud of! Taking a moment to deflate, he noticed Tal poking it gently with one paw, and tried not to laugh. He was able to guess what had her so enthralled— though he would never admit it, he had been the same way when he first saw it— an oval, the top white and the bottom blue, flanked on both sides by small white wings. "It's very special," he added. "You can use it to teleport Pokemon to safety, so long as you know where you're going, and its not too far away… It has to recharge after every use, though."

"Whoa," Tal marveled, softly. "Neat." She removed her paw, suddenly afraid that by touching it, she'd somehow break or ruin the wonderful badge.

"Yeah… there's still a little more to do, before we're _actually_ official," he finally confessed, "but it's really just small details."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Well, like dropping off our information at the Pelipper Post Office, so Pokemon can send us rescue requests, and arranging for storage of supplies— well, as soon as we _get_ some supplies; leaving our names on the bulletin board, opening a bank account… oh, and recording where our official base is."

A thought occurred to Tal. "Why not here?"

"Huh?" Kaji blinked a few times, before trying to come up with a response. He hadn't meant that! What if she thought he had been trying to convince her to use this place when—

"Come on, it's perfect," Tal interrupted, just as Kaji was starting to get a protest out. "There's a little table in it and everything. Plus, it's a lot more private than outside…Um, for official business and stuff," she added hastily, trying to will her face not to flush red.

"Well…" Kaji hemmed and hawed for a moment. "You really think so?"

Tal shrugged. "Why not? I mean, if I'm going to be out on a rescue team with you, I probably won't be using it much."

Finally, Kaji smiled, and nodded. "Okay, if you say so." He turned to face the road. "Let's see… we've got quite a day ahead of us… And, I mean, we still have to go gather supplies, before we can head out any time soon."

"Uh, you know what?" Tal suddenly balked at the idea of going around and having to talk with other Pokemon. She wasn't sure _what_ they'd think of her… "How about we split up? I'll go get the supplies, and you can arrange the other… uh, stuff… that way we get done twice as fast, right?"

Pausing, Kaji gave Tal a searching look, but then shrugged it off. "Sure. But… you don't really know your way around this area," he pointed out.

"Uh, well, I—"

"_I found you I found you I found you!_"

"What the…_Ah!_" Tal suddenly dove forward, narrowly avoiding being tackled by what seemed to be a flying Caterpie. Rising to her feet, she shook the dirt from her head, and turned to face the enthusiastic young bug Pokemon.

"Uh, hello Caterpie," Kaji said, stepping closer, thinking to help forestall Caterpie if he should try to barrel into one of them again.

"Hiya!" Happiness shined on Caterpie's face; the other two couldn't help but feel its infectious effects, smiling themselves. "Are you guys really starting a rescue team?" he suddenly asked.

"Mm-hm," Kaji answered, with a nod.

"Oh, wow! _Cool!_"

Tal's eyes widened as she thought of something. "Hey, Caterpie! You have perfect timing, you know?"

"I… do?" The little Pokemon seemed to be confused, not quite sure what he had timed so well.

"Uh huh," Tal continued in a sotto voice. "Do you know your way around here?"

His eyes lit up. "Oh sure! I've been here loads of times," he told her proudly. Tal turned to Kaji triumphantly.

"See? Caterpie will keep me from getting lost, and I'll make sure he doesn't get hurt."

Kaji seemed recalcitrant, though. "Well…"

"Oh, _pleeeeease?_" Caterpie begged. "My mom won't mind— she said I could come play with you guys, since she knows you two would keep me safe…. _Pleeee-eeee-eeeease?_"

"Okay," Kaji finally said, laughing with his defeat. "Promise you'll keep close to Tal?"

"Promise," Caterpie said, suddenly becoming solemn as he nodded— he understood his new responsibility.

Kaji turned to Tal, who smiled in thanks. "Don't worry," she whispered, "I'll come right back here if things look like they could get dangerous." He nodded, relieved. "Anyways, what kind of supplies do we need?"

"Hmm," Kaji said, thinking. "Well, we're definitely going to need provisions. And, healing berries probably wouldn't be a bad idea either. Oran berries, definitely, and maybe some Pecha as well."

"Uh… yeah, sure;" Tal's voice suddenly became falsely cheery. _What the heck are those?_

"Okay then… you'll need this, I guess," Kaji said, gesturing to the box. "I'll meet you two back here, later, alright?"

"Okay! Bye Kaji!" Caterpie called as the yellow mouse proceeded back down the path he had come up. Tal sat back on her haunches and waved with one paw, still keeping up her cheery expression until he was gone. As soon as he was out of sight, she sighed in relief, before crying out in alarm and reeling backwards— as she fell onto her back, she realized that the large face that had popped up in front of her actually belonged to Caterpie, who had apparently decided that he needed to do so absurdly close to Tal. "Eh heh…" she laughed, slightly disturbed. "Hey, uh, Caterpie… I've got a game we can play!" she said, just thinking of something.

"Really? What is it?" he asked, growing excited.

"Well, let's see… it's a competition… The first one to find an Oran berry and a Pecha berry wins, okay?"

"Okay!!" Caterpie looked as if he was ready to dash straight off into the forest behind the hut, stopped only by Tal's paw— she had hastily pinned him to the ground as soon as she realized his intentions.

"Whoa, hold on… we've got to stay together, remember?"

"Oh… yeah, I guess so," Caterpie admitted. Tal laughed as she pulled the strap over her shoulder, and slid the rescue team pack up onto her back. Tugging on the strap awkwardly with one paw, she tightened it until it held snug— but not tight— to her.

"Come on," she finally said, beckoning to him with one paw. She couldn't help but laugh as Caterpie began to lead the way, humming to himself.

* * *

"Ooh! Ooh! I saw it first! I saw it first!"

"That you did," Tal admitted, good-naturedly. "Why don't you run get it?" Honestly, she hadn't even known what she was looking for, so she had absolutely no arguments when Caterpie returned, clutching a large blue berry, declaring that it was _his_ find. _So that's what I'm looking for, _she mused to herself. "Okay, but you've still got to find a Pecha berry, too, remember?" To herself, she added, _I need to be on the lookout for any more of these._ She glanced upwards, hoping to spot the tree it had fallen from, but it appeared that it hadn't come from this area. "Oh well," she said to herself, under her breath, as she took the berry from Caterpie and placed it in the pack.

However… something red caught her eye up in the trees, and she gave them a second look. A wide grin spread across her face.

Caterpie, not quite noticing what she was looking at, instead looked at her, confused. "What's up?"

"Kaji said we needed provisions. Those should do nicely," she said, sitting back so she could gesture up at the tree with one paw. Looking up, Caterpie saw several apples hanging down, visible beneath the lowest of the branches. "Do you think you could get them down with your string shot?" Caterpie nodded, determined to complete this new task set before him. Focusing inwards, he scrunched up, his face contorted with effort. Suddenly, he straightened out, and a long thread of sticky silk shot from his mouth, up towards one of the apples. With a yank, he pulled it from its branch. Three more times, and the pair were looking at four, large, shiny apples.

"Thanks," Tal said, enthusiastically patting Caterpie on the back as he pushed one towards her. He beamed up at her, before returning to roaming the surrounding area. Tal sighed contentedly, placing each of the apples into the pack carefully, before sliding it up on her back. Despite her lack of fingers, she was becoming more and more accustomed to using her paws for things.

She was broken out of her silent reverie by Caterpie's voice. "Man, this is more fun than I thought it would be," he said without warning. Tal blinked for a few seconds, trying to work out if that was supposed to be a complaint about how boring he _thought_ it would be, or a compliment…

"Hey, uh… you _do_ know where we're going, right?" Tal suddenly asked, noticing that the ground was starting to slope away from them. Caterpie nodded to her.

"Yep, there's a river down this way."

The Eevee caught on rather quickly. "Ah, yeah, the water would make berries grow better, huh?" Caterpie nodded again, eyes lit up. As he continued to lead, Tal followed silently, reflecting on what a happy little kid he seemed to be. _And bright, too._ _It's just like home_, she thought, this time, the thought bringing no ill feelings. Again, she was struck by the similarities. _I never thought Pokemon were like this… I always thought…_ She suddenly felt a pang of guilt, as she remembered exactly the role Pokemon had played in her home. "I'm not sure I can _ever_ tell them I'm a human," she murmured to herself, assured that Caterpie was well out of earshot. "What would they think of me?"

At first, Tal had simply assumed that no one would believe her. But now…

Looking up, she saw Caterpie, happily going about being a kid, and couldn't help but grin. "This isn't so bad," she commented to herself. And, for the first time in two days, she didn't worry about how she'd ever turn back into a human… instead, simply thinking about the berries she needed to find.

* * *

Kaji could feel a distinct spring in his step as he made his way back towards the old hut… _Our new rescue base,_ he corrected himself. He wondered, as he walked, if his new Eevee and Caterpie friends had returned yet.

As he rounded the bend that would bring him up to the base, he suddenly heard Tal crying out in fright. Alarmed, he felt static building up in his cheeks, and dashed around the bend, sparks dancing around his face.

The sight before him brought him to a halt, but not because of any destruction or terror— just plain bafflement. Tal was trying to dash away from Caterpie— apparently, they were play fighting— however, this was proving rather difficult, as he saw lots of shining, sticky threads stuck to her fur in various places. Tal cried out again, trying not to laugh, as Caterpie tackled her in the side, knocking her off of her feet. "Gah!...Oh, h-hey!" she called out to Kaji.

From Tal's point of view, Kaji was shocked into silence. Slightly embarrassed at being caught playing in such a way, she quickly tried to right herself, but was pushed back down by a laughing Caterpie. She chuckled uneasily as Kaji came closer; he seemed a bit embarrassed himself, having just jumped out ready to attack.

"Uh… did, uh, everything go okay?" he asked, forcing a grin.

"What? Oh yeah… other than being terrorized by a small child," she added, laughing, as Caterpie had just crawled up onto her back and was now trying to sit on her head, crushing her ears out to the side. "We got the Oran berries, and a couple of Pecha, and some apples too."

"Oh, really? Awesome," Kaji said, glad for a change in conversation. "Yeah, I got everything done too… Except," he added, starting to look regretful, "for a name. I mean…" He grew quiet. "I didn't want to choose one without you."

"Huh?" Tal struggled to sit up, sending Caterpie tumbling off of her back. "Uh… Well… I don't know," she finally said, lamely.

Kaji nodded, sympathizing with the feeling. "I haven't been able to think of any good ones either. Let's see… there are teams with names like Hydros, and Rumblerock…" He trailed off, thinking.

Eventually, Tal spoke up, laughing. "Well, we've already determined our ability to run," she said, jokingly referring to their flight through the forest the day before. "Why not be the Chasers?"

"Wildchasers!" Caterpie suddenly piped up.

Tal and Kaji each gave him a strange look, before exchanging glances. It was weird… something about the name just seemed to _fit_… And both of them knew at once that it was definitely the right name. Tal nodded once, to confirm what Kaji had suspected.

"Alright then," he declared. "We are officially Team Wildchasers!" Though only Tal and Caterpie cheered as he proudly gave their new name, Kaji could imagine other Pokemon cheering… Someday… He grinned, unable to keep himself from doing so. _This is going to be awesome,_ he told himself secretly.

"EXCUSE ME!!" The sudden voice caught all three of the Pokemon by surprise, and they spun to look down the front path. Floating there was a Magnemite.

"Uh, yes?" Kaji asked, puzzled by its appearance.

"YOU ARE A RESCUE TEAM, RIGHT?"

Kaji tilted his head to the side, unsure of where Magnemite was going with this. "Yes, that's right."

"I HAVE TWO FRIENDS WHO ARE IN TROUBLE!"

Tal and Kaji exchanged glances once more, before each began grinning wildly. This was it!

Their first official rescue!


	6. Not Quite As Planned

**Rescue Team Adventures: Chasing the Sky  
Chapter VI: Not Quite As Planned**

* * *

"I HEARD ABOUT YOU FROM BUTTERFREE. PLEASE HELP— A STRANGE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE FLOWED THROUGH A DUNGEON… AND IT STUCK TOGETHER MAGNEMITE AND MAGNEMITE… THAT ISN'T ENOUGH TO FORM A MAGNETON. IT'S NOT COMPLETE THE WAY IT IS NOW."

The screeching voice of the Magnemite was grating, at best, but the two smaller Pokémon listened through it, too excited by the prospect of their first adventure to be too upset about the discomfort.

"So they're stuck down there?" Kaji asked. Tal hoped he knew what he was talking about— after all, he was an electric-type, wasn't he? Maybe he had some… insight… into how this all worked.

The second Magnemite, a friend of the other, bobbed up and down in place.

Tal felt a strange sensation coming from above her hindquarters; after a moment, she realized it was her tail, seemingly wagging of its own volition. During this, Kaji turned to her. "What do you think?"

For a moment, the Eevee felt like saying, do you have to ask? Instead, she gave a toothy grin. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"That's the spirit!" he replied with a laugh.

It was a quick preparation— Kaji interviewed the Magnemite for any more information they could give, while Tal ran inside to grab their kit. Noticing the shiny blue, winged stone that Kaji had sat up on the table, she paused for a moment to admire it. _A Rescue Team Badge…_ who'd have thought she'd ever be doing something like this? Actually… Tal couldn't really remember what she had wanted to do with herself…before. Once again, she knew what her world was like, but any details or memories of her_self_ eluded her… Shaking the distraction from her head, the tiny Pokémon gently lifted the badge from the table, tucking it carefully into the pack before she wriggled into the strap.

Returning outside, Kaji was nodding to the two Magnemite with a sense of finality. He turned to the Eevee as she came back out. "They'll show us the way to Thunderwave Cave— that's where this all happened."

Tal nodded again, the same sense of finality in her gesture. She was ready.

* * *

"OUR FRIENDS ARE IN A CAVERN, THROUGH HERE," one of the Magnemite said, buzzing anxiously and gesturing towards a crack in the cliff. Having finally reached the spot, the two young Pokémon hesitated before the dim crevasse in front of them. Truthfully, it wasn't a 'cavern'— not yet, anyhow. It seemed like a series of cracks and erosion in the mountainside, that had formed a cave-like system. Whether access to any other caves existed further in, it was hard to tell, but for now, the Pikachu and Eevee accepted the Magnemites' wishes of luck, and climbed into the crevasse. It didn't honestly make either of them feel any better.

The stone was generally a tan color, sometimes more of an orange— the sparse light coming through openings near the top of the crevasses cast a soft glow about the place— illuminating some and leaving the rest in mysterious darkness. Occasionally they could hear scuttles in the shadows. Once a young female Nidoran skittered across their path— Kaji tried to ask her for directions, but she only paused a second, before dashing away. Otherwise, the two tried to avoid the Pokémon in the gloom, going around or finding other ways forward. Sometimes they could hear teeth being gnashed, or caught glimpses of eye-shine— both frightening to the two small Pokemon.

"It seems kinda quiet in here," Tal said eventually, nervous. Kaji seemed no less anxious— the excitement and eagerness of before had all but faded away, leaving a grim sense of anxiety in its place. Regardless, the two pushed on.

A few minutes later, there was a distinct crackling of electricity in the air. Tal instinctively flinched, before glancing to Kaji. "That was you… right?"

He shook his head. "There _are_ other electric Pokémon here…" He didn't want to say it aloud, but that worried him. Any attack he might give would be of little help against a Pokémon of his same type. But, as frightened as Tal looked, he took the lead anyways, not able to ask her to go first. If she had seemed inexperienced before, it really showed now, and he felt bad for the Eevee. "We'll just go quietly and see what it is, okay?"

Tal nodded, but swallowed hard. "Sounds like a plan."

Creeping forward on all fours now, Kaji looked around the area he was approaching— no light shone here, and it seemed it might be descending down into an actual cave now. Cautiously he sniffed the air, catching only a sharp, strange scent that made his short fur bristle.

"Hello?" he called softly, hoping that whatever Pokémon was hidden from view was friendly enough to come forward of its own accord. Beside him, Tal shivered, despite her thick fur. Nothing. "Hmm…"

Cautiously, the Pikachu built up a small charge in his electric sacks, just enough to emit a faint glow. It wasn't something he was used to— it didn't light up much, and every now and then a spark flashed dangerously towards the ground, but it didn't take more than a few steps before it illuminated who— or rather, _what_— was blocking their path.

A strange red and white orb sat in the path, practically blocking all access to the area beyond. Tal, confused but curious, began to creep closer. As she did, another electric crack sounded, a spark dancing outwards from the orb.

In an instant, Kaji realized what it was, and he tried to hiss at Tal to _stop_, reaching for her, before she disturbed it. However, the small fox Pokémon had already moved beyond his reach— when a second weak flicker of electricity came from the round thing, striking right next to Tal's foot. She yelped, and tripped, stumbling backwards and causing even _more_ noise.

The orb began to turn, then, of its own volition. _Forget being quiet_— "Move!" Kaji yelled.

A buzzing noise came from the orb— which had spun to reveal _eyes_— before yet another spark of energy erupted from it, this time larger and directed right at Tal. Even as she scrambled to get away, the bolt caught her in one of her hindquarters, tripping her again and eliciting a sharp, pained cry, she limped forward until the feeling returned to her leg. _What the heck just happened?_

Kaji, several steps ahead, heard the second sickly crack of electricity and turned to see Tal dragging herself away from the other Pokémon— for that's what it was. He was also watching as it began to roll, straight towards his comrade. "_Tal!_" She wasn't paying attention or hadn't heard, and it seemed she wouldn't have been able to get out of the way quick enough anyhow; making a noise of frustration that had an equal root in fear for what could happen, Kaji dashed back towards the other two Pokémon, quick enough to interpose himself between Tal, and the orb, which was quickly picking up speed.

"Kaji? What are you—"

Tal never got to finish her question as the orb struck Kaji, knocking him into her and sending the both of them tumbling.

As the two finally came to a halt, Tal found herself partially crushed beneath the electric mouse Pokémon. "Kaji? Hey, you're squishing me—" But there was no response. She tried wriggling out from under him. As soon as she managed to untangle herself, Tal realized _why_.

Her companion wasn't saying or doing much of anything, actually. He seemed barely conscious. "Kaji? _Kaji!_" she hissed, nudging him sharply and glaring back over her shoulder at the approaching Pokémon. It was rolling towards them again— this time, Kaji gave a moan in response, trying to drag himself up. "Up! Hurry!"

The rolling orb stopped a few feet away from them— but it was close enough for Tal to gasp and try to back away, only to remember her 'team-mate' behind her. Gulping hard, she tried to stand her ground. "Any time now would be nice," she whispered, knowing full well that Kaji probably couldn't hear her— she heard him stirring, but that was a far cry from 'being-able-to-fight-whatever-the-heck-this-thing-is'. Which left _her_.

Another shocking attack came from the red and white orb, and Tal hopped to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack, only for it to arc towards Kaji. Tal's eyes widened in surprise, but amazingly, the attack didn't seem to hurt him, just make him twinge and rouse a bit more. Amazement aside, the Eevee took the moment, and hoping for the best, flung herself shoulder first into the Pokémon.

_Lucky our kit is pretty strong_, she decided as an afterthought. The hard edge of the box combined with her weight thrown behind it seemed enough to knock their attacker back and stun it for a second. Unused to such maneuvers, Tal was unable to keep her feet as well, but quickly regained them.

"Mm… what happened?" Tal spun to see her Pikachu comrade getting to his own feet, looking a little dizzy.

"No time for talking— run!"

The two exchanged glances, before the buzzing resumed, redoubled in intensity. Shocked, they turned to see that the spherical Pokémon had not been so much damaged as it was _angry_.

"Good idea," Kaji managed to say, before the infuriated Pokémon started coming at them again— suddenly moving a lot faster than they'd at first thought it capable.

* * *

Panting harder than she thought she ever had, complete with a few bruises she hadn't had a few minutes ago, Tal leaned up against a rocky wall, counting herself lucky that her fur seemed to blend with their shadowy surroundings more than Kaji's did. Speaking of Kaji…

"Shh!" he said all of a sudden, from his vantage point next to a corner— the same corner they had just ducked around not thirty seconds ago. Tal started forward to see, but he waved her back, retreating away from it himself. As the _cracks_ and _pops_ of electricity came into hearing range, Tal found herself holding her breath to keep herself from panting again and revealing their position. It was a tense moment as they both watched from the dim crevice as the Pokémon that had chased them this far rolled past.

…Then, it had passed them by, and both exhaled with relief. Kaji moved back to the edge, cautiously peering around, and sighing again. "It's gone."

Tal leaned away from the cool stone, flopping to the floor and closing her eyes for a moment. "What _was_ that thing?"

Kaji found himself grinning, but his amusement was dry; he could still feel the pain in his whole left side, and hadn't escaped without a few new bumps of his own on the wild chase of the minutes before. "A Voltorb. Electric Pokémon."

The Eevee opened one eye. "I noticed _that_." Indeed, her back right leg still felt vaguely like it was being assaulted by pins and needles. She sighed herself, setting her head down on her forepaws.

Mildly annoyed though he was, Kaji couldn't help but sense something was amiss. "Hey, what's up?"

Tal didn't reply for a moment. Then; "It was my fault." She looked down at the dirt, pawing it aimlessly. "I messed things up."

For a second, Kaji couldn't think of what to say either. Eventually, he just decided to be as honest as he could. "Ye-eah…" The Eevee in front of him began to look even more dejected. "_But…_ We all make mistakes." He gave a small smile as she glanced up at him. "And besides, you did a pretty good job of fixing it, when it comes down to it."

Tal snorted, but she was now returning the Pikachu's smile. "Yeah right. I tripped _myself_ doing that."

"Aw, but you don't have that much experience, do you?" he replied with a laugh. "It was good for being so new," he assured her. "_And_ it worked. Come on," he continued, gesturing with his head, "Let's try to find another way around."

Feeling better, Tal rose from the ground, looking around. Judging from the light stone and dim light washing across it, they had been chased further out. But as she began to follow Kaji's lead again, Tal couldn't help but feel that a certain bridge had been crossed, one that made them both walk lighter and easier, despite their recent injuries. A certain trust now extended between the two of them, and the warranted thanks for their actions seemed to go unspoken.

Tal smiled. Maybe this really was going to work out.

* * *

A/N: Well, I know this story's officially on 'hiatus'… and it still _is_… But I figured, 'why not?', s'not like I'm getting much else done. It may be a bit forced, and for that I apologize, but I do have an idea for how I want to finish out this mission. Again, the purists among you will notice I've taken slight artistic license here and there as I go into further detail, but I do my best to never do anything that would outrageously conflict with the game. :)

By the way, I finally restarted my game, and have been recording dialog as I go so I can use it for reference— I haven't got much so far, but now my excuse for why I can't keep working on this story is gone. :\ Which is a good thing for you all. Bad for me, 'cause I'm just plain lay-zee. :D

As it stands, no word on when the next chapter will be out. Though, as I've said, I've got it pretty much planned, so 7 should come relatively soon; after that, no guarantees.

::DemonicK


	7. Quick Stop

**Rescue Team Adventures: Chasing the Sky**  
**Chapter VII: Quick Stop **

* * *

"Kaji."

The small electric Pokémon paused, flicking his ears back towards the source of the hissed whisper. No explanation came, so he was forced to turn around. In the dim light, it was difficult to see Tal— she blended in fairly well, and was lagging several steps behind.

Nevertheless, his eyes found her, and he gave her a questioning look. Apparently, the look was lost on her, as she just looked confused. 'What?' he mouthed at her.

"What?" she said, not catching what he said.

The Pikachu fought the urge to sigh. "What do you—" He caught himself before he said 'want'; "What do you need?" he said, changing the question to try and sound more polite.

Tal didn't seem to pick up on his steadily growing exasperation. "Aren't you getting hungry?"

Kaji didn't answer, turning back towards the path. The cheerful conversation between them had been wearing thin the more time they spent in here, without much progress. They still hadn't been able to find a way down, and he could only guess that they had spent more than two hours in the cave already.

It seemed that the time was grating on Tal's nerves as well; he heard her muttering under her breath somewhere behind him. For a moment, Kaji felt like confronting her over it, before realizing that bickering wasn't going to help any… probably just attract more trouble.

And… there _was_ a hollow, painful feeling in the pit of his stomach. _Guess I am_, he thought, suddenly unable to keep from laughing. How absurd was this? Honestly, they were stranded in some cave in the middle of nowhere, taking everything so seriously and then _this?_

The Eevee behind him could only stare blankly as Kaji suddenly cracked up. _Maybe this has gotten to him more than I thought;_ Or maybe, she couldn't help but add, he was crazy. Actually, it seemed to explain a lot, and Tal moaned inwardly, something about getting lost with this nutcase.

"Kaji?" she asked delicately. "Are you alright?" she added with exaggerated politeness, walking up next to him but careful to stay a few feet back.

"No," he said, snorting but with a grin still on his face. "I mean, look at what we've got ourselves into…" he mused. "It's so ridiculous it's funny. Don't you think so?" He looked over at Tal expectantly.

Once again, she stared at him blankly for a second, before her expression became incredulous. "No…"

Kaji just shrugged, the vestiges of hysteria wearing off, and seated himself. "You know what? I am hungry. You must be starving," he added, somewhat apologetically.

The implicit agreement in that was enough to distract Tal from any of her own steadily growing wariness. "_Yes,_" she said, gratefully pulling the rescuer's kit off her back. She then eyed him cautiously, hesitating. "This _does_ mean we're stopping, right? Just to eat, I mean," she hastily added, not wanting to sound like she was copping out.

Not that she hadn't considered that, too.

Kaji grinned, nodding. "Sure."

Tal couldn't help but let out a sigh, prompting Kaji to laugh again— causing the Eevee's fur to puff up as she got incensed. Her initial indignation was met with ribbing, which got the two of them teasing and joking and going enough that they were able to forget, momentarily, the unusual situation in which they found themselves— or, more accurately, which they had gotten themselves into.

So, though it shouldn't have been entirely unexpected when other Pokémon began to creep up on the edges of the small chamber they were in, both Kaji and Tal literally jumped as several small rat-like Pokémon crept into their field of vision.

Even Tal recognized these ones— Rattata, and at least four of them. They were eyeing the discarded food that the other two Pokémon had dropped in their surprise, and edging forwards.

"H-hey," Tal started, trying not to shrink back. Somehow, images of that pack of Poochyena kept popping up in her head. "Can we help you?" Maybe they weren't interested in fighting…

The biggest one took a step forward, puffing up its chest. "You're on _our_ turf," it squeaked. It didn't seem that threatening, until you looked at those big incisors… _So much for not fighting_.

"Oh," Tal said, her own voice becoming a bit higher in pitch. "Well, uh, we…uh…"

"We didn't know," Kaji broke in, smoothly trying to defuse the situation. "So just let us get our things together—"

"No!" the ringleader declared, cheered on by his cronies, which seemed to inflate his confidence further. "Leave now."

Kaji could swear he heard Tal mumble something under her breath again, something which he might have taken the time to be shocked hearing from her had he not been thinking much the same. "Now, let's not be rash… This was all just a misunderstanding."

The group of interlopers were now gnashing their teeth, urging their leader on. He took another threatening step forward, staring Kaji down— to no avail, as Kaji refused to move.

The big one's eyes slid to the side, as if only now taking note of the Eevee, not quite cowering but certainly not standing up to him like this Pikachu. Taking advantage of the easier target, he leapt in her direction.

For a moment, Kaji expected her to dodge, or retaliate— before he remembered just how well Tal 'fought'. Instead, she ducked her head, covering it with both paws.

Kaji tried to move to help her, but suddenly found himself in the midst of three other Rattata, leering at him. One tried to tackle him, while another nipped at his side. Forced back, Kaji let out a small electric spark, trying to drive them back.

Meanwhile, the leader collided with Tal, pushing her back into the wall and knocking both of their feet out from under them. In actuality, the Eevee found that the attack hadn't really hurt her at all, defending herself as she had been. Taking advantage of the Rattata's momentary pause, she kicked it in the face, trying to squirm out from between it and the wall.

Angry, it lunged at her again— with her flank turned to the small purple rat, Tal couldn't think of anything to do but turn slightly and interpose her huge fluffy tail between the two of them. The giant teeth the Rattata had been trying to sink into her leg got caught in long brown fur instead, and hoping for the best, Tal continued the spin, pulling the Rattata off its feet and making it stumble away from her.

For a split second, the Eevee realized her opponent's defenses were down. _Here goes nothin'—_ ducking her head forward, she rammed the Rattata in its vulnerable side, sending it sprawling away from her.

"Wow… that worked?" Apparently so, as the leader decided this wasn't worth the hassle, and took off down a side path.

One of his lackies was already unconscious on the ground, and Kaji wasn't letting up on the other two. A familiar electric crack sounded out, followed by two yelps. Seconds later, the last two Rattata were following in the footsteps of their venerable leader.

"Whoo," Kaji said, exhaling loudly, before he grinned again.

"Well that was a nice burst of adrenaline." The small Eevee couldn't help but chuckle as she went to retrieve their rescue kit.

"Heh." Kaji started to collect the fallen pieces of food, dusting them off. "Maybe we should get going before it wears off," he suggested, flipping the kit's lid open and sticking the fruit back in.

"Mm." Tal slipped the strap over her head, eyes wandering around the cave. They seemed to light up a little all of a sudden— "Wait," she said, walking past Kaji who stared after her, confused.

Looking around, it didn't take long to figure out where she was headed— the one Rattata that had been knocked out was starting to stir. "_Tal_… what are you doing?" Kaji asked, following after.

"Hey… you!" Ignoring Kaji, and now nudging the Rattata very sharply with a paw— "Wake up!"

The little rat Pokémon did just that, and looked very startled. In an instant, his eyes were wide with fear, without his buddies and now being faced down by two other Pokémon. Kaji frowned a bit; partly because these guys were just a couple of bullies that traveled in groups… partly because he still couldn't see what Tal was up to.

She didn't seem fazed, though, and took a step forward; the Rattata took a step back. "You live in these caves, right? You know your way around?"

What happened next, Kaji almost expected— he certainly could have predicted it— the Rattata decided he had had enough of this, and started to bolt. Tal cried out something like, "_Hey!_" and leapt after him, but the other Pokémon was faster.

He wasn't, however, faster than Kaji.

In a burst of speed, the Pikachu dashed ahead, reaching the exit the Rattata was headed for and actually skidding through the dirt in order to stop before he hit the wall there. Suddenly, the Rattata found his way of escape cut off again, let out another surprised cry. By the time he had turned around to go in a different direction, Tal had caught up and was blocking that path as well.

She looked a little indignant, too. "I just wanted to ask you a _question_," the Eevee insisted, her ruff starting to puff up again. "Do you know your way around here or not?"

The Rattata eyed her, wary, before glancing over his shoulder. The Pikachu was still standing there, looking unimpressed. Returning his attention to the Eevee, the Rattata gnashed his teeth a little, then asked, "Yeah… so what?"

"We're looking for some Pokémon who got lost here… some Magnemite," Kaji provided, prompting the Rattata to turn and look behind him again.

Seeing this, Tal had to press a paw over her nose to keep herself from snorting. _Geez, paranoid much?_ Trying to keep control of herself, she added, "They're supposed to be in some of the lower caves… But we can't figure out how to get down there."

Rattata considered this for a moment, then went back to staring at her suspiciously. Tal supposed it didn't help their case any that they were cornering him… but come on! He would have run off if they hadn't, she told herself.

Kaji broke in again. "_Please_," he entreated one last time.

"Mm…" The Rattata looked as though he still wanted to say no, but at last, said, "Fine. Follow me." He jerked his head to the right, and started to walk in that direction. Kaji smiled and nodded, starting to follow.

Tal gave a grateful smile as well as the Rattata passed her by, but he just shot her a dirty look. Her expression soured, and she rolled her eyes. _I was__** trying**__ to be __**nice**_. Nearby, Kaji caught a glance and started to chuckle to himself. He'd say things were getting back to 'normal', for sure.

* * *

A/N: Mm… No, don't rub your eyes, it's not a mirage— I have in fact, finally updated! I know, it's not much, but I wanted to get something out. :D

…And in other news, you can consider this one officially off of hiatus!! Love you guys!


	8. Back on Track

**Rescue Team Adventures: Chasing the Sky  
Chapter VIII: Back on Track**

* * *

Tal had to give their new Rattata guide one thing— he really did know his way around. Within minutes, they were in a section that she and Kaji had somehow missed entirely… and even she could already tell they were moving downwards.

For one, they no longer came across any sections where light drifted in from above through cracks in the stone. It didn't seem to bother Rattata, but neither she nor Kaji could see that well in the dark. The Pikachu's solution was to attempt to use electricity from his cheek sacs to light the place up. It might have worked, too— admittedly, there was a soft glow.

There were also arcs of electrical energy that kept leaping from him to the ground, or occasionally, the other two Pokémon. A particularly strong bolt lanced backwards, causing Tal to shriek and leap away.

"_Ah!_ Watch where you're _aiming_, would you?!"

"I'm not doing it on purpose," Kaji insisted. He looked remorseful enough, but Tal— the air around her now smelling of ozone and her fur standing on end with the static— was not readily forgiving.

Several yards ahead, Rattata shot them a disgusted look. He would have liked nothing better than to run off and leave these two, but if their encounter earlier was any indicator, they'd just chase after him— it looked like the quickest way of ditching them was to just take them where they wanted to go.

Now, he knew of a place where a lot of electric Pokémon liked to go, deep within the cave… He'd never been there himself— it was plain _creepy_ down there.

Rattata didn't see the need to share this view; rather, he was afraid that if he did, then the Pikachu and the Eevee might decide to turn around and leave the cave, and then insist that he take them back up.

The Eevee was muttering something, walking a good couple yards behind the electric-mouse Pokémon. Rattata just rolled his eyes and returned his attention to in front of him… There was an Elekid that lived around this part, and he was doing his best to avoid it. But, that also meant they were getting close…

All of a sudden, the Rattata realized he couldn't hear two sets of footsteps behind him anymore. Turning, he was met with a strange sight.

Both of them had stopped; the Eevee, Tal, looked concerned, and was at Kaji's side, apparently forgetting about the close call she had earlier. Kaji, meanwhile, looked out of it— the glow from his cheeks was starting to dim, and he was swaying back and forth, eyes a little glazed.

"Uh… Kaji? A-are you okay?" Tal gave him a gentle nudge, eyes wide.

"Wha?" Kaji looked up, as though startled. "Oh… s-sorry…" he stammered. "It's just… It feels _weird_ all of a sudden… Can't you guys feel that?" The Pikachu glanced between his two companions, who were both shaking their heads.

Tal seemed freaked out by his sudden odd behavior; Kaji guessed he couldn't really blame her… He _felt_ odd. All of a sudden Kaji gave a great shiver, and Tal unconsciously flinched backwards. The light from his cheeks faltered a bit, before it resolved itself into a steady glow… noticeably absent were the sparks of electricity every few seconds. No one said anything for a few moments.

Then; "Are we still going?"

The Eevee turned to look at Rattata, frowning. Kaji cut her off, though; "Yeah, I'm… I'm fine." He took a step forward, his electric-sacs glowing even brighter, and nodded to Tal. "Let's find the Magnemite."

The three walked on in silence for the next few minutes. Kaji could see Tal shooting him nervous looks every once in a while. At last, Rattata crawled up onto a cave formation in one cavern, and beckoned for them to follow. Once up there, he pointed towards a crack between the lump of rock and the wall. Kaji walked on up to investigate… Tal edged up to it, eventually peeking in.

"Oh… _wow_," Kaji murmured. "Okay, that _definitely_ feels weird…"

"It's worse here?" Tal was looking worried again. It made her feel guilty, but at least part of her worry stemmed from the fact that if they ran into trouble, Kaji might not be able to fight. _Wow, what a great teammate I am, Kaji's sick and I'm worried because he might not be able to keep __**me**__ out of trouble._ The Eevee shook her head, trying to dislodge the feeling, but it stubbornly refused to go away.

Kaji didn't notice, to her luck, but took a moment to consider the question. "Not worse… It's not like something _bad_… But it _is_ stronger here… Sorry," he threw in at the end, trying to smile apologetically. "It's a little hard to explain."

Making a soft noise, Tal peered into the crevasse again. "Well, this seems pretty conspicuous. I'd say it's a good bet for finding the Magnemite."

Kaji nodded, rubbing at his head. Once again, Tal found herself watching him with more concern than she would have figured on. Then, her gaze shifted to behind him. Then all around the cavern.

"Hey… where'd he go?"

"Mm?" Kaji turned to see that their Rattata guide had taken advantage of their distraction and disappeared, probably back the way they came. "Well," he started, uncertain. "He brought us this far. Maybe he figured we could find the rest of the way ourselves."

Tal was growing a bit antsy, suddenly unsure. "How do we know he led us to the right place?"

Despite feeling as though he were about to tip over, Kaji put a reassuring paw on Tal's shoulder. "Like you said, this is too conspicuous to not be the place. Don't worry!"

"Don't worry, he says," Tal muttered, but she tried to force a smile anyways.

The Pikachu just laughed, and moved to head down into the aperture first.

* * *

A/N: So much for off hiatus.

I'm trying guys, I promise… I know it's shorter than usual (way shorter) but might as well give ya' what I've got. School's just heaping up on top of me. Every time it seems I get one major project done, a test comes up, then a presentation, then _another_ project. Ah. You don't want excuses.

In a little over a month I'll be done with finals, then I've at least got part of May to turn out a few more. So… I guess we'll see how that goes? '' Mm, depending on how horridly my summer schedule ends up being, that may be the last major break I get. So we'll see.

Don't worry, campers, I'll try to turf out chapters as I get the time. Wish me luck on my philosophy test tomorrow!


End file.
